Fund the People: A Podcast with Rusty Stahl

This episode updates you on how the Big, Bloated Bill in Congress will impact nonprofits and philanthropy. And this week’s interview offers a deep dive into how the proposed law would impact nonprofits that hold up America’s social safety net.

What happens when government cuts to essential services threaten to recreate the horrors of decades past? How do nonprofits navigate serving vulnerable populations while fighting for their very existence? In this powerful episode, Edward Hershey, CEO of Home of Guiding Hands, reveals the critical connection between defending democracy and protecting society's most vulnerable members—people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who depend on services that are now under unprecedented threat.

Hershey shares the stark reality of operating a $35 million nonprofit with 1,200 employees while 90% dependent on government funding that's facing massive cuts. From paying payroll on credit cards due to delayed government payments to witnessing a 40% underfunding crisis finally addressed only to be threatened again, his organization's story illuminates how attacking nonprofits, government programs, and philanthropic funding creates a dangerous triple threat to democratic values. The conversation traces a direct line from the horrific institutional conditions exposed by Geraldo Rivera in the 1970s to today's policy decisions that could force a return to those dark days.

Through personal accounts of rallying 300 constituents, confronting elected officials, and maintaining hope among staff and clients, Hershey demonstrates that defending democracy isn't abstract—it's about ensuring that government remains "of the people, for the people" by protecting the infrastructure that cares for those who cannot advocate for themselves. His message is clear: we are judged as a society by how we treat our most vulnerable, and preserving that care is preserving democracy itself.

Are you curious about the true scope and scale of nonprofit employment in America? Ever wonder how nonprofit jobs weathered the pandemic compared to for-profit jobs? In this episode, host Rusty Stahl speaks with Dr. Alan J. Abramson and Chelsea Newhouse, both of George Mason University, about the numbers behind the nonprofit workforce, and their implications for funders, policymakers, and nonprofit leaders.

The conversation reveals crucial facts about nonprofit employment based on George Mason’s latest report. Abramson and Newhouse discuss how nonprofits lost 580,000 workers during the early pandemic but weathered the initial downturn better than for-profits. They explore common misconceptions about nonprofit funding and highlight how the sector has struggled to fully restore its workforce.

What's at stake when nonprofits and democracy are under attack? How can organizations respond effectively to threats against their tax status and Constitutional rights? In this illuminating conversation, Rusty speaks with Mike Zamore, National Director of Policy and Government Affairs at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), about the unprecedented challenges facing nonprofits in today's political climate.

Mike Zamore draws from his 22 years of Capitol Hill experience and current ACLU leadership to explain how nonprofits are essential to America's constitutional framework of checks and balances. He details recent fights against attempts to weaponize government power against nonprofits, including legislation that would have allowed stripping organizations of tax-exempt status without due process. The conversation highlights parallels between threats to individual liberties and threats to nonprofit First Amendment freedoms.

The discussion concludes with practical advice for nonprofits in red states and red districts to effectively engage with Republican representatives regarding the upcoming tax reconciliation bill that could adversely affect the sector. Zamore emphasizes the importance of solidarity, encouraging nonprofits to stand together against intimidation tactics, and that reminding us that maintaining collective courage is crucial for preserving both Constitutional rights and the ability to serve communities.

This episode was recorded the morning of May 9, 2025, before the House Ways and Means Committee revealed the language in their portion of the proposed tax bill, which includes re-introduction of H.R. 9495.

Are you concerned about high turnover in youth-serving nonprofits? Wondering why dedicated staff working with vulnerable young people struggle to make ends meet? In this episode, you’ll get findings from groundbreaking research on the wage crisis among youth-serving nonprofit workers in San Francisco, and what can be done to address it. Host Rusty Stahl interviews Madison Holland, founder of the Prosperity Initiative.

Madison shares key findings from their recent report revealing that this workforce is predominantly women (69%) and people of color (80%), with over half not earning a living wage, and 40% working multiple jobs to survive. The research identifies how low wages create a harmful cycle: poor staff retention leads to deteriorating service quality, and ultimately worse outcomes for youth. Most critically, this undermines the trusted relationships that vulnerable young people need with consistent adult mentors, the very foundation of effective nonprofit youth work.

The conversation explores solutions targeting different stakeholders: government funders must cover full program costs and reduce administrative burdens; philanthropic funders should provide unrestricted multi-year funding; and nonprofits themselves need to leverage collective power by refusing to underprice their services and explicitly prioritizing staff well-being in budgets. Madison emphasizes that investing in the nonprofit workforce isn't just about fairness to workers—it's essential for achieving meaningful outcomes for the young people these organizations serve.

Bio:

Madison Holland graduated from the University of San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology (Childhood Development emphasis) and Political Studies (Social Justice emphasis). She later earned a Master’s degree in Urban and Public Affairs from the University of San Francisco, focusing her thesis on legislation related to juvenile hall closures.

With over ten years of experience working with children in various roles and settings, Madison most recently served as the Director of Advocacy and Government Relations at the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco. There, she led advocacy efforts, managed government funding, and oversaw mentorship and youth advocacy programs. Madison has been actively involved in the Children & Youth Fund’s Service Providers Working Group for seven years, where she contributed significantly to budget advocacy work, membership engagement, resource and infrastructure development, and more.

Madison is passionate about preventing burnout, building a healthier youth-serving nonprofit workforce, and redefining narratives around working in the nonprofit sector. She believes that choosing a career dedicated to serving others should not require sacrificing personal well-being. She was a fundamental part of driving the work to obtain grant funds that led to the creation of the Prosperity Initiative.

Are you concerned about the recent attacks on nonprofit funding? Wondering how the sudden dissolution of USAID and cuts to federal agencies are impacting vital organizations and the communities they serve? In this eye-opening installment of our Defend Nonprofits / Defend Democracy series, host Rusty Stahl delivers critical updates on the Trump Administration's actions against nonprofits, and speaks with Laura Andes, Chief Operations and Program Officer at Charity Navigator about how these cuts are affecting nonprofit organizations and leaders across America and globally.

Rusty begins with alarming updates on recent developments, including the hostile takeover of the federal grants portal, AmeriCorps staff furloughs, attacks on the Vera Institute of Justice, and legislation that would limit courts' ability to stop illegal administrative actions. He emphasizes the estimated loss of 10,000-20,000 nonprofit jobs. And he highlights concerning precedents that may be set through attacks on universities and other 501(c)(3) organizations. These moves represent a coordinated assault on both government services and the nonprofit sector that traditionally fills gaps when government falls short.

Are you questioning the sustainability of leadership practices in your organization? How might centering the experiences and perspectives of women of color transform leadership in the social sector? What would it look like if funders truly listened to what nonprofit organizations need and responded accordingly? In this powerful episode, Rusty speaks with Safi Jiroh, Executive Director of LeaderSpring Center, to answer some of these questions.

This episode delves into LeaderSpring's evolution from supporting only executive directors to creating a fellowship for women of color leaders at all levels in nonprofits. Safi discusses how the organization redesigned its curriculum to address systemic barriers and promote liberatory leadership practices while challenging unsustainable expectations in the nonprofit sector.

Safi offers profound insights on what women of color bring to leadership roles, including community, empathy, lived experience, love, resilience, intuition, and truth-telling as primary contributions. The discussion tackles the current political climate where diversity, equity, and inclusion work is under attack, with Safi emphasizing the need to "fight to dream" and "fight to innovate" despite opposition. She challenges philanthropy to examine practices that create "bondage for nonprofit organizations" and to demonstrate the will to change by releasing control and embracing vulnerability.

How are nonprofits surviving in today's challenging political climate? What happens when government funding freezes threaten essential services? How are state nonprofit associations becoming the backbone of sector defense?

In this thought-provoking installment of Fund the People’s "Defend Nonprofits Defend Democracy" series, host Rusty Stahl engages in a candid conversation with Nonoko Sato, President and CEO of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN). They discuss the critical challenges facing nonprofits under the Trump Administration.

What does it look like when nonprofits and foundations unite to protect vulnerable communities? How can organizations navigate uncertain policies while staying true to their values? And, most importantly, where can we find hope and resilience in a time when the sector itself is under attack?

Whether you're a nonprofit leader seeking practical insights, a funder considering how to respond effectively, or another infrastructure group in the field, this episode offers valuable perspective on defending democracy through a strong, united nonprofit sector.

In this episode, host Rusty Stahl welcomes Loretta Turner, founder of Do Good Leadership Collective, for an insightful conversation about nonprofit wellbeing in challenging times. Loretta shares her journey from yoga instructor to nonprofit leader to wellbeing coach and consultant. She discusses how her personal experience with burnout and receiving nonprofit services after losing her home shaped her mission to help social impact professionals "do good and be well." She offers a multidimensional view of wellbeing that goes beyond surface-level solutions like yoga classes or team-building activities, advocating instead for comprehensive approaches that include equitable pay, robust benefits, mental health support, and sustainable organizational cultures.

Listeners will gain valuable insights into what Loretta calls the "nonprofit zones of delusion" - harmful mindsets like savior complexes, scarcity thinking, and the glorification of burnout that plague the sector. The conversation explores how nonprofit professionals have been conditioned to "do more with less," making them uniquely equipped to face current challenges while emphasizing the critical importance of rest and resilience. Loretta also discusses how funders can meaningfully invest in wellbeing by moving beyond one-off grants to supporting sustainable organizational cultures where wellbeing is integrated into strategic planning.

This timely episode offers both practical wisdom and inspiration for nonprofit leaders navigating an era of attacks on the sector. Loretta explains her involvement with the Talent Justice movement and shares exciting initiatives from Do Good Leadership Collective, including monthly "slowdown events" in San Diego and the development of a coaching collective specifically for nonprofit professionals. Whether you're experiencing burnout, looking to create a more supportive organizational culture, or seeking to fund wellbeing effectively, this conversation provides frameworks and strategies to help social impact professionals not just survive, but thrive in their important work.

This episode offers a valuable, concrete opportunity for funders to collectively and individually support their grantee organizations and the nonprofit sector, and to break out of a period of general confusion, silence, and inaction. In this fourth installment of our bi-weekly “Defend Nonprofit, Defend Democracy” Series, host Rusty Stahl sits down in-person with Shaady Salehi, co-executive director of the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project. They discuss a new action pledge designed to unite philanthropic funders in support of nonprofits in this new political period of political attacks on nonprofits and philanthropy, fear of speaking out, destabilized government funding, and increasing demand on nonprofits. Shaady introduces the "Commitment for Trust-Based Action," a funder pledge developed by Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, and the National Center for Family Philanthropy. The pledge outlines three key commitments: moving in solidarity with nonprofits; mobilizing money in a trust-based way; and nurturing possibility and innovation.

The conversation highlights how nonprofits are facing unprecedented challenges, with 90% reporting negative impacts from federal policies. Salehi emphasizes practical actions funders can take, including offering multiyear unrestricted funding, increasing grant budgets, simplifying application processes, and considering alternative funding structures like gifts instead of grants. She explains these recommendations were developed by listening directly to nonprofit leaders who reported feeling isolated and pulled in different directions by uncoordinated funder responses.

Salehi also discusses how this commitment addresses the need to resource nonprofit leaders' creativity and strategic thinking as they reimagine their work for a dramatically different future. She encourages foundations to support connection and convening among nonprofits and explore creative funding opportunities beyond traditional 501c3 structures. The initiative aims to create a united front for the social sector during turbulent times, with Salehi inviting both funders to sign on and nonprofits to share the commitment with their funders to start conversations.

In this episode, host Rusty Stahl speaks with Aria Florant, co-founder and CEO of Liberation Ventures (LV), about navigating internal conflict within nonprofits. Aria shares her personal experiences and challenges in leading LV, particularly around issues of power dynamics and organizational culture. Liberation Ventures is a grantmaking intermediary that works toward reparations for slavery.

Rusty and Aria talk about the complexities of power within nonprofits, including the need for leaders to acknowledge and mindfully wield their power. They also discuss the importance of creating a culture of repair, where conflict is addressed openly and proactively, and where staff members at all levels feel empowered.  

This episode gives actionable insights for nonprofit leaders and funders, and advocates for greater investment in organizational wellness and practices that support healthy team dynamics. Tune in to hear how addressing internal issues is crucial not only for the well-being of staff but also for the overall effectiveness and impact of the organization.  

In the third installment of our "Defend Nonprofits, Defend Democracy" series, Fund the People’s President and CEO Rusty Stahl discusses recent attacks on the nonprofit sector by the Trump Administration. He lifts up one recent example: an order to change to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. The administration's executive order would disqualify service at nonprofits or government agencies working on issues like immigrant rights, equity and inclusion, and LGBTQ rights from counting toward loan forgiveness, effectively targeting both workers in public service careers, and the communities they serve.

Stahl examines how these attacks are part of an integrated approach by the administration that simultaneously targets marginalized communities, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and the First Amendment of the Constitution —undermining legal and civic infrastructure that has long enjoyed bipartisan support. He notes that this approach is more authoritarian than previous administrations as it not only scapegoats vulnerable populations but also attacks the platforms through which people organize and solve problems.

The podcast highlights the growing tension between nonprofits and philanthropic funders, with many foundations hesitant to speak out for fear of retaliation. Stahl acknowledges that some foundations like Robert Wood Johnson, Barr Foundation, and Public Welfare Foundation have issued strong statements, made emergency funds available, ir increased payout, but encourages more individual and collective action. 

He concludes by urging listeners to share stories of harm experienced by nonprofits through various data collection initiatives to help advocates and policymakers understand the real-world impact of these attacks.

Resources

National Council of Nonprofits

In this episode, you’ll get an inside view of the contradictions funders face when it comes to investing in the nonprofit workforce. And you’ll get the back-story of how Fund the People’s California Talent Justice Summit came to be.

Fund the People’s President and CEO, Rusty Stahl, speaks with Leslie Payne, a former Initiative Director at the James Irvine Foundation, and current principal at Penlight Advising. Leslie shares her journey in recognizing the contradiction of being a workforce and jobs development funder while not addressing job quality in the grantee nonprofits organizations that provide workforce development services to Californians. The conversation explores how this realization led to the California Talent Justice Summit and other initiatives to improve nonprofit job quality.

The discussion highlights several tensions in addressing nonprofit job quality, including funding restrictions, wage compression, and sustainability challenges. Leslie emphasizes the importance of funders using their voice alongside their dollars, nonprofits understanding their full costs, and creating mechanisms for staff input. A recurring theme is the need for nonprofit leaders to develop the capacity to say "no" to certain opportunities when they would compromise staff wellbeing, even when the work would benefit communities they serve.

Tune in to hear about these key points:

In this second installment of our "Defend Nonprofits, Defend Democracy" series, host Rusty Stahl shares insights from his recent experience at the 22nd annual Foundations on the Hill event in Washington, DC. Drawing from meetings with congressional staff and discussions with philanthropic colleagues, Rusty offers reflections and actionable ideas for addressing the political and policy threats to our sector.

Emphasizing the importance of maintaining hope and agency in the face of significant challenges, Rusty highlights the unique role of nonprofits in driving social change. He calls for greater solidarity among nonprofit infrastructure groups, funders, and government leaders, and provides practical advice for listeners on how to support and strengthen the sector. From educating policymakers about the nonprofit workforce to leveraging voter support and supporting key legislative initiatives, Rusty offers a roadmap for nonprofit professionals to actively defend and advance their critical work. The episode serves as a call to action for nonprofit leaders to engage in advocacy, share their stories, and support organizations fighting for the sector's interests.

Resources:

In this enlightening episode, you’’ll learn how a growing group of funders is thinking about wellbeing – for grantees and themselves. Laura Bacon, strategy lead and facilitator of the Funders and Wellbeing Group, discusses how this new global group of a dozen foundations is working to transform philanthropic culture with regard to wellbeing. Through regular virtual meetings and annual in-person gatherings, the group explores ways to support both individual and organizational wellbeing in the social sector. Their recent retreat in Malaysia highlighted how many nonprofit staff challenges related to wellbeing are universal, from shrinking civic spaces to staff burnout and retention issues.

The conversation emphasizes the critical importance of maintaining focus on wellbeing initiatives during challenging times, particularly in the current political climate where social justice work and the nonprofit sector face significant pressures. Laura advocates for funders to be more flexible and generous in their support, while ensuring that wellbeing remains a priority rather than an optional add-on in grantmaking practices.

Laura shares her journey from musician to social change advocate, and her extensive experience in philanthropy and wellbeing initiatives. As the former founding director of the Partner Support Program at Luminate (an Omidyar foundation), she established wellbeing stipends for grantee organizations, allowing them to address their staff's needs with maximum flexibility. The program distributed about 71 grants totaling $350,000, which organizations used for various purposes from team retreats to mental health support.

Biography:

For more than two decades, Laura Bacon has designed programs and led projects and teams to achieve social impact around the world. She’s currently an independent consultant, partnering with clients on a host of cool initiatives. One of her roles includes Strategy Lead and Facilitator of the Funders + Wellbeing Group at The Wellbeing Project, where she facilitates peer-learning and convenings among a dozen funders to enhance wellbeing for individuals, organizations, sectors, and communities.

Previously, Laura was founding director of the Partner Support program at Luminate, a global philanthropic organization that is part of the Omidyar Group, where she supported over 300 grantee partners to achieve their goals of being more resilient, healthy & inclusive, and well-networked.

Before working at Luminate / Omidyar Network, Laura was a White House Fellow focused on clean energy.

Resources:

Welcome to the Fund the People Podcast and our new special series, “Defend Nonprofits, Defend Democracy.”

Why “Defend Nonprofits, Defend Democracy”? Because powerful nonprofits are part of a strong democracy, and a strong democracy benefits from powerful nonprofits. When nonprofits are under attack, democracy is under attack. And when democracy is at risk, nonprofits are at risk. It’s clear that investing in the nonprofit workforce (both paid and unpaid) is crucial to building powerful nonprofits. The Trump Administration’s anti-American attacks on philanthropy and the nonprofit sector are already weakening our democracy. And these attacks are also destabilizing nonprofit jobs in the U.S. and around the world, and creating extreme and unnecessary strain on nonprofit people and the communities we serve.

Listen to FTP Podcast host Rusty Stahl as he launches the Defend Nonprofits, Defend Democracy Campaign to understand and frame the issues, inform the sector about what’s happening; and mobilize the sector and the country to protect and strengthen our treasured nonprofits. As part of that effort, he will be discussing these current affairs here on the podcast every other Wednesday morning on our Defend Nonprofits, Defend Democracy episodes. These episodes will provide valuable updates, commentary, analysis, calls to action, and special surprises, of course. For more info, check our website at www.fundthepeople.org!

Resources:

In this episode of the Fund The People Podcast, you’ll get an inside view of one foundation’s journey to investing in healthy nonprofit executive transitions - and helping other funders to do the same. 

Host Rusty Stahl sits down with Liz Sak, Executive Director of Cricket Island Foundation, and Hana Sun, a consultant who manages the Foundation’s Leadership Transition Fund. They discuss Cricket Island Foundation's approach to supporting nonprofit leadership transitions, particularly for small, grassroots organizations focused on youth organizing. The foundation provides three-year grants of $45,000 per year to help organizations navigate the before, during, and after phases of executive transitions.

Often funders unintentionally create barriers to healthy grantee leadership transitions, with many nonprofit leaders hesitant to openly discuss their plans to leave due to fears of lost or postponed funding. Cricket Island Foundation addressed this by publicly signaling their supportive stance toward transitions, creating a firewall between the foundation and grantees through an external consultant, establishing peer-learning cohorts for transitioning leaders, and developing resources for both nonprofits and funders through the Leading Forward initiative.

The discussion emphasizes that successful transitions require long-term planning, adequate resources, and a supportive funding ecosystem. We also talk about the importance of normalizing conversations about transitions and creating safe spaces for leaders to explore their future plans.

Resources:

Arum Lee Lansel, founder of ALL-in 4 Impact, shares her unique career journey from fashion design to international development, philanthropy, and venture capital. Driven by her immigrant family's experience and desire to create more equity, she has developed a deep understanding of how organizations can better support their employees. Her perspective bridges the worlds of venture capital and nonprofit sectors, highlighting the critical importance of investing in talent.

Drawing from her experiences at the Packard Foundation, and at the venture capital firm General Catalyst, Arum discusses the key lessons that philanthropy can learn from venture capital, particularly the emphasis on investing in people as the primary driver of organizational success. She introduces her "Thrive" model, a practical framework for nonprofit leaders to systematically improve their workplace environment, which consists of three levels: stabilize (basic compliance), support (creating conditions for best work), and sustain (building a culture of innovation and well-being).

In the episode, Arum argues that funders and nonprofit leaders must recognize that the success of their mission depends directly on the health, engagement, and development of their employees. By providing resources, creating supportive structures, and giving staff space to breathe and innovate, organizations can dramatically improve their impact and effectiveness.

Key Takeaways:

• Nonprofit success is fundamentally tied to investing in and supporting staff, not just program outputs.
• The "Thrive" model provides a structured approach for nonprofits to progressively improve their workplace environment.
• Funders should view staff investment as a critical strategy for maximizing organizational impact, similar to venture capital's approach.
• Creating "space to breathe" for nonprofit workers is a form of equity and resource allocation that enables innovation and sustainability.
• Small nonprofits can start improving their workplace with affordable, targeted interventions, even without a full-time HR staff.

Bio:

Arum Lee Lansel is an accomplished leader with two decades of experience in the nonprofit, philanthropy, international development, and venture capital sectors.

In this episode of the Fund the People podcast, host Rusty Stahl interviews Nneka Payne, Executive Director of Choose 180, a Seattle-area nonprofit that transforms oppressive systems and supports young people's healing and development. Payne shares her personal journey from experiencing the juvenile legal system firsthand to leading an organization that provides alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for youth. Choose 180 has grown from one program to eight, expanding from court-based diversion to include mental health services, gun violence prevention, and other support services.

The conversation focuses on Choose 180's groundbreaking decision to establish a minimum salary floor of $70,000 (now $73,000) for all employees, up from previous wages that hovered around $45,000-$50,000. This transformation occurred rapidly - within 4-6 weeks - during the pandemic, driven by staff advocacy and leadership's commitment to addressing financial stress among employees. The organization worked with compensation consultants and engaged their board to make this significant change, despite the uncertainties of nonprofit funding.

The results of this wage increase have been transformative for both staff and program participants. The organization has actually grown its staff from about 20 to 32 people, while maintaining strong program outcomes. Choose 180 has also expanded its employee benefits to include wellness stipends, homeownership education, and other resources. Nneka emphasizes that when staff aren't burdened by financial stress, they can focus more fully on serving participants, leading to better outcomes and stronger community impact.

Bio: Nneka Payne

Nneka is a relationship-focused and mission-driven leader who holds a dynamic background spanning a decade across community-based organizations, human services, and the legal system. Rooted in her firsthand experiences with the King County juvenile legal system, the mission of CHOOSE 180 is deeply personal for her. She has witnessed how the strain between systems, processes, and people create significant gaps and limit opportunities for young people and is committed to eliminating those strains and identifying possibilities.

Links to Resources:

In this illuminating episode of the Fund The People podcast, Geoff Green, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits), provides a masterclass on the economic and political power of California's nonprofit sector. Green explains how nonprofits, as the fourth-largest employer in California with 1.2 million workers, are often tasked with addressing the "externalized costs" of both business and government - from poverty wages to environmental degradation - yet are chronically underfunded and undervalued in policy discussions.

The conversation delves into the critical challenges facing nonprofit workers, including delayed government payments, inadequate overhead rates, and the fact that 22% of nonprofit workers struggle to make ends meet. Green discusses CalNonprofits' legislative efforts to reform government contracting and shares a promising new Los Angeles initiative that ensures wage equity across public, private, and nonprofit sectors. He emphasizes that for every $20 of public expenditure, there is only $1 of charitable funding - highlighting why nonprofits must build political power to influence how public dollars are spent rather than simply providing services on the cheap.

Key Points:

Learn why nonprofits are California's fourth-largest employer and how they're transforming their economic power into political influence

Discover why "working on the cheap" hurts both nonprofit workers and the communities they serve

Get an insider's perspective on recent legislative wins and ongoing battles to reform government contracting with nonprofits

Understand the complex relationship between labor unions and nonprofits, and innovative solutions for wage equity across sectors

Hear about new research showing how Trump-era tax changes resulted in $20 billion less in charitable giving, and what this means for the sector.

Bio:

Geoff Green is CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits), a statewide policy alliance of more than 10,000 nonprofits speaking to government, philanthropy, and the public at large.
A long-time CalNonprofits board member, Geoff previously served as CEO of the Santa Barbara City College Foundation. With more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, he has worked on a wide variety of issues including affordable housing, access to education, racial equity, and environmental protection.
Under Green’s nine years of leadership, the SBCC Foundation raised over $50 million to support student success programs. In 2016 he led the creation of the SBCC Promise, a groundbreaking initiative that offers all recent, local high school graduates the opportunity to attend college full-time at no cost.
You can reach Geoff by email: Geoffg[at]calnonprofits[dot]org.

Resources:

NONPROFIT WORKFORCE:

When politicians and elected officials try to brand nonprofits as “thugs,” “sleazebags,” and “terror-supporting orgs”, will you freeze? Take flight? Or stand up and fight back?

In this episode, you’ll get:

1. Tips on how the incoming Trump Administration may behave toward philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, and some important ways your organization can prepare and respond;

2. An overview of what FTP did for nonprofit workers in 2024, how we’ll build on that work in 2025, and how you can plug-in; and

3. You’ll get a sneak peak of what’s up next on FTP Podcast S7

There’s a lot going on in our country right now: A transition of power to what may be the most anti-nonprofit administration in history; the death and funeral of President Jimmy Carter; and the devastating wildfires in Southern California. It’s a mind-boggling moment. 

But as leaders of the nonprofit workforce, we have to keep our heads on straight and keep our hearts regulated. We make civic life possible. And when government and business fail, we fill in the missing pieces. America needs philanthropy and the nonprofit sector to be strong and enduring now and this year and in the coming years.

In the first half of this solo episode, Rusty shares three ways the Trump Administration may behave toward nonprofits and philanthropy, and offers three recent examples that inform these assumptions. He implores listeners and the entire sector to not just prepare to defend and protect our own organizations, but to speak out in defense of the entire sector, and to communicate boldly and proudly about the value of the sector and our workforce for our economy, democracy, and communities. 

In the second half of the episode, Rusty updates you on what Fund the People did for the nonprofit workforce in 2024, and how we will keep this work going in 2025. And he ends with a sneak peak of some of the upcoming guests and topics in the next set of episodes in Season 7 of the Fund the People Podcast.

Resources:

Pay equity is a critical factor in attracting and retaining talent in the nonprofit sector, and organizations need to address pay disparities to ensure their long-term sustainability.   

Our guest today is Sally Loftis, Managing Director of Loftis Partners, who discussed pay equity and the importance of investing in staff. We talk about the challenges faced by nonprofits in attracting and retaining talent, emphasizing the need for competitive pay and benefits that reflect the rising cost of living.   

We also discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nonprofit workforce and the need for organizations to adapt to the changing needs of their employees. Ongoing feedback mechanisms and a commitment to understanding the systemic needs of employees are essential for creating a workplace culture that is not just equitable, but also sustainable.

Guest Bio

Loftis Partners is a 100% woman-owned human resources consulting firm that works at the intersection of human resources, organization improvement, and social change. Sally founded Loftis Partners after working internally as a strategic HR practitioner. Since 2020, she's worked with 60+ organizations across 15 states and 3 continents.  

Resources

On this episode of the Fund the People Podcast (S7:E4), you’ll get a bird’s eye view of the threats to nonprofits, civil society, and social movements around the world. And you’ll hear how one global funder has responded.

Our guest today is Jamaica Maxwell, the Civil Society and Leadership Director at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. 

We discuss the challenges faced by civil society globally, including shrinking civic space and threats to individuals and organizations working on critical issues like climate change and reproductive rights. 

She shares how the Packard Foundation’s efforts to respond to these threats, and how the Foundation’s work has evolved from using an ‘organizational effectiveness’ frame to a more holistic approach to supporting civil society, which emphasizes the interconnectedness of leaders, organizations, networks, movements, infrastructure, and civic space.

Resources:

In this episode, you’ll garner an important perspective on the nonprofit and philanthropic community from a professional coach who helps Black women executive leaders navigate the white spaces of our sector. 

Guest Kelli King-Jackson reflects on the impact of racial politics on organizational culture. We discuss the need for nonprofits to adapt to a changing workforce, including generational differences in communication styles. And we talk about how foundations can be more responsive to the needs of grantees and embrace rapid change.

Resources:

In this episode, you'll get a free-wheeling, big picture view of how organized philanthropy does and does not address issues impacting the nonprofit workforce. Inside Philanthropy journalist Dawn Wolfe writes about how funding for living wages and other fundamental matters related to nonprofit staffing.

Why should we all be 'following the money'? Why should the hiring crisis not have come as a surprise to anybody? How are the sector's funding practices actually hurting the groups they are trying to help? Why do funders have incredible influence that they're not using right now? What can you do if you want to be a 'worker-friendly' funder? If a nonprofit speaks up about their challenges with grants, do they get labelled as problematic? We discuss these questions and more.

Resources:

As the nonprofit workforce crisis evolves into 2025, how funders respond to nonprofit burnout, compensation, recruitment, and retention challenges will be more important than ever.

After a summer and fall hiatus, we’re back with a brand-new season of Fund the People’s Podcast, featuring insightful guests and valuable resources to help you invest in the nonprofit workforce! 

Even though we haven’t been publishing, we've been busy behind the scenes! At the start of this episode, you’ll get a sneak-peek into some of the things we’ve been working on.

Then we dive into new research from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) with major takeaways and commentary on the state of the nonprofit workforce. Our guest is Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Ph.D., Vice President of Research at CEP. She shares her journey into social change work, and offers valuable insights on the research findings. We explore two important studies:

1. A survey of nonprofit executives examining “the state of nonprofits in 2024,” with a focus on employee and executive burnout.

2. A survey of foundation professionals, exploring grantmaker attitudes and responses to nonprofit burnout.

In our Season 6 finale episode, we mark Fund the People's 10th anniversary by launching our new initiative: the Funding that Works Academy. This new professional development platform equips funders, nonprofits, and intermediaries with the ideas and tools needed to provide effective funding solutions that advance good nonprofit jobs, and the wellbeing and sustainability of those working in nonprofits.

The Academy was designed to help grant makers and fundraisers move philanthropic money in a way that supports and develops nonprofit leaders and workers. With the Funding that Works Academy courses, you'll learn about the challenges facing our sector in a new way so that you can craft interventions that will address the real problem. Dive into the theory and practice of talent-investing, ensuring that grantmaking and fundraising efforts prioritize people and their pivotal role within the social sector.

Our inaugural course is designed for foundation professionals and other types of grantmakers. Future offerings will be tailored to foundation trustees, nonprofit professionals, board members, and individuals in intermediary roles like consultancies, higher education, and associations.

In this brief episode, Rusty offers our loyal listeners a special sneak-peek into a new program offering being announced shortly from Fund the People! Don’t miss the inside scoop!

Rusty also wraps-up Season 6 by comparing and contrasting stories from some of our amazing guests this season, and offers two key “Aha! moments:”

First: when funders invest in the grantee workforce, it can be extremely big, complicated and costly, or it can be small, simple, and take modest dollars. Or something in between.

Second: If nonprofits have the political will and savvy to invest in their workers, they don’t have to wait for funders for other outside forces to give them permission or incentives.

This episode makes clear the need for and value of talent-investing for community foundations and other place-focused funders. Our guest, Elizabeth Kidd of the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area, demonstrates how even the most modest dollar amounts used in strategic, responsive talent-investing at key inflection points in the lifecycle of leaders and their institutions, can have exponentially positive impact for nonprofit executives, workers, organizations, and communities.

Listen to gain an understanding of…

• Why and how talent-investing has become valuable to the board and staff of the Community Foundation.

• How the Community Foundation has created and sustained value for grantees and the community through its grantmaking to strengthen the local nonprofit sector.

• Why it’s important to invest in the nonprofit workforce at key moments of organizational change and across the life-cycle stages of individuals and organizations.

In this episode, you’ll gain important insights into current issues in the nonprofit workforce, and how professional development is evolving in our sector, particularly but not exclusively as it relates to leaders and workers of color. Our guest is Yolanda Coentro of the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, one of the fastest-growing and most exciting professional development providers for nonprofits. Founded in 2007, the Institute now offers a portfolio of programs that serve nonprofit leaders from early-career all the way through the executive level.

In today's episode, you'll learn strategies and practical tips for creating happy, healthy, nonprofit workers and workplaces. Our guest Beth Kanter is a leading expert on nonprofit technology and she is co-author of the book Happy, Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact Without Burnout. You'll learn about tangible tools for preventing burnout at the individual and organizational levels, and learn what is available in her book. We discuss why she wrote the book, how nonprofit wellbeing has changed over the six years since it was published, and what she would write differently if she were writing the book today. We discuss the question: Can better salaries make us less burnout? Beth offers her advice for how artificial intelligence can become part of wellness in nonprofits. And much more!

Dr. Akilah Watkins is President and CEO of Independent Sector, one of the national organizations that pulls together our sector and represents it in Washington. Dr. Watkins has been on a national listening tour of the nonprofit sector since she took on this leadership role in January 2023. In this episode, she shares what she’s heard about the challenges facing the nonprofit workforce. She also shares how Independent Sector is working to improve the policy environment for nonprofits as employers.

Have you ever thought that funder-sponsored organizational ‘capacity building’ may be detrimental to nonprofit workers and their communities? Today we talk about concrete ways we could improve the framing and practice of capacity building to better support the brilliance and resilience of diverse nonprofit workers and organizations.

Today's guests are Melissa DeShields and Marcus Littles from Frontline Solutions, a Black-owned and -led social change consulting firm. We discuss our guests recent Nonprofit Quarterly articles about why the term “capacity building” should be retired, and ways to improve the practice itself under whatever title it goes by.

How can funders think and act differently regarding grantee capacity?And how can nonprofit leaders respond to funders, and/or proactively design their own efforts? Learn more about these questions and more on today’s episode.

This episode offers a powerful example of how funders and nonprofits can collaborate and advocate to reform government contracting, so that it works better for the nonprofit sector and the nonprofit workforce.

You’ll learn how Mercedes Elizalde (Board member of the Nonprofit Association of Oregon), Felicita Monteblanco (Northwest Health Foundation) and others teamed up to advocate for state contracting reform, and how that resulted in them serving as members of the Governor’s Modernizing Grant Funding and Contracting Task Force.

Our powerful guests will help you gain an understanding of:

• How the nonprofit community can educate and influence our state governments;
• Advocacy strategies and tactics for influencing government; and
• Lessons-learned on the challenges and opportunities of legislative approaches to systems change.

In this episode, you’ll hear how a new nonprofit executive can start-up innovative investments in employees from scratch, even in a 60-year-old organization with 200 staff. 

Shaheer Mustafa tells his story about his work at HopeWell, a major foster care nonprofit in Massachusetts. When he took management of the $25 million budget with hundreds of staff, there was no internal capacity that you would expect from an HR team. Since then, he has leveraged government and philanthropic investments to build-out a sophisticated set of investments in staff, and focused on increasing representation, leadership, and voice of people with lived experience in the foster care system throughout the organization. And he kept it going through the challenges of the pandemic.

This episode spotlights how one foundation has made an ongoing commitment to supporting “healing justice” as part of its grantmaking.  We're pleased to speak with Desiree Flores, Executive Director of the General Service Foundation.

As they say on the Foundation's website, "Social justice work can be affirming, invigorating, and nourishing. But for leaders in the struggle, the work can also be rife with conflict, overwork, isolation, trauma, and oppression...we have heard movement leaders struggling increasingly with burnout and exhaustion. At GSF, we’ve been exploring how we, as funders, can support movements in creating space to cultivate resilience, wholeness, and well-being among the individuals and organizations that comprise our movements."

Toward that end, since 2018 General Service Foundation has funded healing justice work in two ways: 

• Supporting organizations that offer healing and resilience services and trainings to social justice leaders and organizations, and
• Supporting the Foundation's grant partners (aka grantees) with healing justice stipends.

This is the third in our three-episode series called "How Funders Can Support Nonprofit Workers in the Age of Burnout."

This episode and the series it's a part of are based on Fund the People's presentation at the Center for Effective Philanthropy Conference in Fall of 2023. Our session focused on how funders can support nonprofit workers in the age of burnout. Thanks again to CEP for including us in the conference.

Today's episode offers a view into how foundation executives can integrate talent-investing deeply into their philanthropic approach and how they can work with grantees in a practical fashion to ensure that they are motivated, incentivized and have the funding they need to pay appropriate thriving wages. This is the second in our special three-part series based on Fund the People's presentation at the Center for Effective Philanthropy Conference in Fall of 2023. Our session focused on how funders can support nonprofit workers in the age of burnout. 

Today, we're talking with Jennifer Roller of The Raymond John Wean Foundation. Each episode in the series documents a unique and important approach to talent-investing.

We’re kicking-off Season 6 with a new 3-part special series, “How Funders Can Support Nonprofit Workers in the Age of Burnout.” It features speakers and topics from a panel discussion hosted by Fund the People at the Center for Effective Philanthropy conference in fall 2023.

In this first episode of the series, you'll learn from a foundation executive director who's leading an important new experiment in how funders invest in the workforce of grantee organizations. The Executive Director is Jamie Allison. The foundation is the Walter & Elise Haas Fund. And the experiment is the Endeavor Fund, which is a program of the Haas Fund. 

We don’t need Baby Boomers to get out of the way faster.

We don’t need Millennials or Generation Z to slow down their ambition for leadership.

And we certainly don't need to continually ignore Generation X.

Instead, we need to intentionally create a multi-generational, multiracial nonprofit workforce.

The more we push long-serving leaders to get out, the more resistance we get. The more we push emerging leaders to stay put, the less likely they'll be to stay in their organizations and in the sector. We need new ways to be together, to work together. Here are four suggestions for building a multigenerational, multiracial nonprofit workforce.

This episode discusses key trends and emerging practices that are sweeping across the funding community. It highlights the glaring gap in these important ideas and practices, and how talent-investing could add value to these ideas.

In this episode, I'm offering up another one of my Rants and Reflections. Today's topic: The Nonprofit Nutrition Cycle.

This episode exposes the insane double standard between how staff costs are treated in private foundation budgets, and how staff costs are treated in nonprofit budgets and the grants that support them. 

If you want to understand why private foundations are expected to pay great salaries and benefits, while public charities are expected to compensate with poverty wages, this episode succinctly explains the legal underpinnings of this difference. 

The double standard must be at the center of our conversations about “full costs,” the “overhead” myth, and “direct” versus “indirect” costs. 

To start that conversation, I offer a radical proposal for how to address the double standard! Take a listen and let me know what you think.

This episode is part of our Rusty's Rants and Reflections series. The series offers Rusty's provocative reflections and ideas about investing in the nonprofit workforce.

In this episode, we offer a critique of a big idea that has led philanthropy and the nonprofit sector astray since 2006, and has negatively impacted our workforce. And I’m going to tell you how Fund the People has been challenging this idea and reframing the issue.

The Bridgespan Group is a major consulting firm serving foundations and nonprofits that was co-founded in 2000 by two Bain and Company executives. In the early days of 2006, Bridgespan caused a huge stir in the sector when they declared that there is a “deficit of leadership in the nonprofit sector.”

Their research suggested that when long-serving Baby Boomer executive directors retired, there would statistically not be enough Generation X to fill their seats. And, they said, with the number of nonprofits growing each year, the number of seats would keep getting bigger as the population to fill them got smaller.

The study was based on deficit thinking. And while it sought to encourage investment in nonprofit executives, it had all kinds of unintended consequences.

Resources:

We appreciate that numerous funders have been trying to support the personal well-being of nonprofit workers during recent years. However, in this episode you’ll hear Rusty’s reflection on why “mini-grants” for wellness is in no way an adequate response to the challenges confronted by the nonprofit workforce. And you’ll learn the concept of turning the funding formula upside down, so staffing issues are treated with the level of attention that they need and deserve.

Resources:

In this episode, Rusty discusses how fear freezes talent-investing, and how fear is a factor for both leaders in both nonprofits and foundations. For example, many nonprofits fear losing funding if they expose the challenges they face in supporting their staff. And many funders fear that their grantees may become too reliant on them for staffing costs. If and when we can alleviate these fears, we can unlock new momentum for talent-investing and talent justice.

This episode is part of our Rusty's Rants and Reflections series. The series offers Rusty's provocative reflections and ideas about investing in the nonprofit workforce.

As discussed in the previous episode, our sector has inherited myths that keep funders from investing in the nonprofit workforce. One of these, which we refer to as the Soft Stuff Myth, maintains the idea that it is impossible to prove that investing in nonprofit workers can improve programs and their impact. In this episode...

• You'll hear a compelling argument based on new data about the state of the nonprofit workforce.
• We share data about the link between people and impact from the for-profit sphere.
• Then we turn to evidence produced by prominent funders who have invested in the nonprofit workforce and evaluated their interventions. We wrap-up with some observations and suggestions.

This episode is part of our Rusty's Rants and Reflections series. The series offers Rusty's provocative reflections and ideas about investing in the nonprofit workforce.

In this episode, you’ll learn about four myths that shape attitudes and behaviors which keep funders from investing in nonprofit workers.

This episode, which is based on the Soft Stuff Doesn’t Have to be Hard article, is part of our Rusty's Rants and Reflections series. The series offers Rusty's provocative reflections and ideas about investing in the nonprofit workforce.

Listen up, funders: it’s time to invest in nonprofit workers. It’s not just word of mouth anymore. In this episode, you’ll learn about new research reports from the Center for Effective Philanthropy and the National Council of Nonprofits that show that investing in staff is the #1 need among nonprofits. And it’s not just this year; we discuss research going back a decade that shows the disconnect between funder and nonprofit perspectives on this issue.

This episode, which is based on a blog post written in response to the research, is part of our Rusty's Rants and Reflections series. The series offers Rusty's provocative reflections and ideas about investing in the nonprofit workforce.